Ingot-mold and method of making same



R. 8. GOAHZS. SNGOT MOLD AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME, APPLICATION nuzunqv. 13. 1918.

1,376,403. Patented May 2-5, 19231,

Uurrso stares PATENT OFFICE.

RAY G. COATES, OF PASADENA, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOE 'lO VAIilIiEY MQULD ANDIRON CORPORATION, OF SI-IARPSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF NEWYORK.

INGOT-MQLD AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.

1 376 4()3 Specification of Letters latent. Patented luay If, 1921Application filed November 13, 1918. Serial No. 262,279.

T aZl wiwm it WIdJ/COflUFH. lleretotore in the art it has been the prac-Be it known that- I, RAY (i. Cos'rns, a cititicc to cast ingot molds,used for making zen of the United States. and a resident of steelingots, by casting these molds upright the city of Pasadena, in thecounty of Los from direct metal or cupola iron. Direct 5 Angeles, Stateof California, have invented metal (blast furnace metal) is bettersuited new and useful Improvements in Ingotfor ingot molds than iscupola iron for the l .lolds and Methods of lilaking Same, of reasonthat blast furnace metal will stand which the following is aspecification. more heats before becoming useless than This inventionrelates broadly to metalwill molds made from cupola metal. Direct lurgy,more specifically to an ingot mold metal or blast furnace metal, such.as is 65 and the method of making the same. usually made into pig iron,throws oil a The principal object of the present invenlarge amount ofgraphite or free carbon tion is a lagged ingot mold of direct metal,when cast into molds. ,When the molten iron. that is iron directly fromthe blast furnace, from the blast furnace slowly cools, carbon andwherein the lugs and head of the mold is released as graphitedand a partrises to are of increased strength and both the top the surface throughthe still fluid iron, just and bottom of the mold are of a smooth asparticles of cork would rise through fi ish. I I water. A certainportion of very light An equally important and primary object graphite,which is completely released from of the present invention is the methodI for the molten iron, is caught by the strong con- 75 producing theabove specified ingot mold, vectional currents of air that always risewhich method comprises casting the ingot above the molten iron. andfloats oit through mold in inverted position with the lugs near the airto be deposited by gravity elsewhere the bottom of the. sand mold inwhich the in the foundry. A larger portion of the ingot mold is cast.graphite, however, does not leave the sur- 39 This invention possessesmany other adface of the metal but accumulates upon, and vantageousfeatures, some of which, to in, the upper strata of metal so that thisporgether with the foregoing, willbe set out tion of the metal is apt tobe porousor, to. more at length in the following description use a termin the art, is rotten.

wherein will be outlined in full that form This accumulation of excessfree carbon of the invention which I have selected for is more oradjacent the surface of the an illustration in thedrawingsaccompanymolten metal and does not extend in like ing and forming a partof the present speciproportion downward through the body or. fication. arelatively deep mass of molten metal. The

35 In the drawings and specification I have longer the metal remains influid condition, 9 described only the preferred form of my the greaterthe opportunity for the freed generic invention. but it is co-.heunderstood carbon to rise. v that I do not limit myself to such form beIn view of the tendency to release free cause my invention may beembodied in a carbon, it is desirable that any large castingmultiplicity of forms each being a species of such as ingot molds fromdirect'metal shall 95 my invention. it being understood that by be donein open molds, because if a cover or the claims succeeding thedescription of my cope be placed over the mold-to form a invention Idesire to cover the invention in finished top to the casting, thegraphite will whatsoever fornr it may be embodied or be trapped on thetop of the casting and will practised. accumulate to a greater extentthan if the 100 Figure l is a sectionalview through the top were castopen. It is, therefore, cus-. sandmold which may he used in carryingtomary in making ingot molds to cast from out my invention. direct metalin open molds and attempt to Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the sandremove accumulated graphite by raking oil l mold taken at substantiallyright angles to or skimmin the mold when it is nearly 105 the sectionshown inl ig. l. and illustrating filled, and tlicn to fill the mold toits final the arrangement for pouring or casting in height. After thecasting has cooled somecarrying out my invention. what. but while it isstill hot, a hole is broken,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of an ingot into the shrinkage pipeadjacent the sill mold in accordance with my invention. face of thecasting and fresh hot metal 'is/ilo poured into this hole so as to fillthe shrinkage pipe as much as possible. '1 his refilling ot theshrii'ikage pipe from the ladle, in substantially all cases, isaccompanied by an undesirable flow of metal that spreads over the top ofthe mold, thereby making a bad end on the final casting and more or lessinjuring the mold.

Ingotmolds, in the most common form,

are provided with lugs adjacent the upper end. of the ingot mold toenable the ingot .mold to be withdrawn from the steel ingot which 2 mybe cast therein. When such type o'l ingot moldsis made from direct orblast furnace metal, it has been found that the rising graphitefrequently accumulates in the cavities that form'the lugs on the castingmold to be cast in the casting, they interfere with the process ofraking olf the top of the metal and they are liable to be moved out ofplace during the raking off and generally add complications to analready difficult problem. Because of economic reasons it is essentialthat hand work on ingot molds be reduced to a minimum, and yet, it isvery desirable that the tops of these molds shall be relatively smooth,because it is much easierin practice to keep a smooth top clean fromsplashed steel and drippings fromthe ladle, and the smooth top is muchmore easily capped when wild metal is poured intothe mold. Since thejoint between the cap and the smooth top being closer than where the.top is rough, it forms a thinner and more equal fin, which morecertainly chills and closes the joint between the top and the cap, thelatter being held down by a wedge placed under the top staples and overthe'cap.

My invention comprises an ingot mold cast from direct metal, alsoincludes the process or method by which such an ingot mold is produced.In carrying out my process, the ingot mold is cast in a reverse orupside-(loan position in a sand mold with the lugs of the ingot moldnear the bottom of the sand mold, and the end of. the mouth of the ingotmold adjacent thebottom plate. Since the larger portion of themetal inthe mold will be above the position of the lugs, it. follows that thelarger part of the floating or completely freed graphite will separateout from the iron above the lug position and, therefore, there is lessopportunity for such graphite to accumulate in the lug cavities andobviously there is a less amount of graphite to be accumulated. Theferrostatic pressure of the metal in this part of the mold is muchgreater than that v the surlace at the top of the casting anu may beraked off or not as is desired. By casting the-ingot mold in invertedposition, the bottom plate of the sand mold may be provided-withcavities in which staples may be set in sand so that the surface of thecasting is free from obstri-iction and the ac curnilated graphite may bevery easily re moved by raking as spe ified. It ispreferable that thecasting for the ingot mold shall be made somewhat longer than the lengthof the finished ingot mold. This feature forms a sink head portionaround the entire top of the' casting so that the pipe, tending to formin the cooling of the metal, will be fed from a relatively large areaand shrinkage will be from as large a surface as is possible and for aslittle vertical height, inthe tasting, as is possible. When the castingot mold is taken from the sand, the extra length is cut oft by a sawor other tool and the rotten portion, due to excessive graphite as wellas the shrinkage cavities, is in the cut-oil piece. This cutoff piece ispractically pig iron and sala ble as such. p

This process. it will be seen, provides that the base of the body of theingot mold shall i be a finished base, therefore, it forms a good jointwith the stool on which the mold is intended to beset and used to moldingots,

and also the top of the mold is smooth because it has been cast againstthe bottom plate and sand, and the lugs being cast under goodterrostatic head from clean metal, are sound throughout. This ingotmold, it will be seen, really is as well finished a mold as isordinarily cast from cupola metal. and at the same time possesses moredesirable metallurgical qualities because of being cast from directmetal and at the same time is more economical in manufacture. That partof the metal designed to be cut of? may form a, direct continuation ofthe body of the ingot mold itself or it may be made larger to give, alarger surface area. and to comprise a lateral projection on the top endof the casting to comprise a hold for grab hooks for lifting the castingup for the sawing-oil operation. In the latter case the upper edge ofthe sand mold may be rounded offend. therefore, be somewhat more durablethan if-let't, as is usual, with the straight corner. In this practicethe amount of metal cast for this extension to be cut oil may be no morethan it the area of the exten' sion were not enlarged, for it may beslightly In the preferred form of carrying out my invention. the mold inwhich my ingot mold is cast comprises a bottom piece 1 which preferablyis made of iron and is provided with sand cavities in which lugs orstaples l are adapted to beset-in or embedded with the ends of thestaples extending upwardl. in such manner as to he cast-in in the ingotmold when this m ld is made. The sand mold, for the ingot mold,preferably is made in two or more parts'and comprises a lack 5 of ironin which molding sand (3 has been tamped around the pattern for theingot mold whi h is positioned in such manner that the ingot mold isinverted with the lugs 7 adjacent the bottom or" the flask and theextreme end of the mold is in contact with the bottom plate so itresults that this portion of the ingot mold 'is slightly chilled. Theinterior oi the ingot mold is preferably formed by an iron core 12 whichis covered with sand in order thatthe core may be easily withdrawn andto keep the iron core from chilling the inner surface of the mold.Preferably this flash; mold is made longer than the finished length ofthe ingot mold in order that the upper portion of the flask mold maycomprise a cavity in which graphdo and the shrinkage cavities maycollect and form tor the reasons specified.

Fig. 2 is a section taken at substantially right angles to the sectionshown in l, and more clearly illustrates the specific malr nor in whichthe ingot mold is cast in that the metal is poured through a runner 8,the bottom of which is provided with a small cavity 1') adjacent thebottom plate 1, and the first metal tlowing into the mold will close allcracks with tins so that when the ferrostatic pressures increase thecracks will be sealed and the metal will be contained entirely withinthe mold section proper. A larger upper conduit or gate 10 is providedbetween the runner 8 and the interior of the sand mold so that when theheavier head of metal poured it flows through this larger gate 1) andgradually lills the mold section. it will be noted that in the processof casting in this mold the metal rises upwardly in the same directionas is the travel of the graphite above referred to; so therefore it willbe seen that the movement of the graphite is facilitated by this processand I am enabled to cast a clear, strong ingot mold.

The upper end of the runnner 8 is provided with a pouring funnel 11'made of sand and clay. This obviates splashing of metal -over into themold cavity proper. hen the casting is cooled, the metal in the runneris cut ofi'.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 3 which illustrates an ingotmold made according to my invention, the portion 13 indicated by dot-tedlines I'QPlB-SGIltS lLat part of the ingot mold casting which was formedin the upper part of the sand mold and which has been cut away by ametal saw or other suitable tool. As previously stated, this cutoffmaterial is substantially the same as pig iron and is salable as such.

Having described my invention, what 'I claim is 1. As an article ofmanufacture a lugged ingot mold of direct blast furnace metal and havinga body portion with a squarely cut base, and having lugs adjacent the.mouth ot the body portion, the metal forming the lugs and mouth of saidingot mold being integral with the body of the mold and of the toughestand most dense metal in the said ingot mold, and with more free .carbonin the metal at the base of the mold than at the mouth thereof.

2. As an article of manufacture an ingot mold of direct blast furnace.metal having a 5 body portion with a base finished square with the axisof the mold. and with said body portion provided with lugs adjacent themouth of the ingot mold and said mouth heingintcgral with the bodyportion and comprising a smooth chilled finishedportion when the ingotmold is taken from the sand mold, with the metal forming the mouth ofthe mold being substantially free of graphite.

3. The method of manufacturing ingot molds from direct blast furnacemetal,

which comprises providing a sandmold having the recesses tor the lugs onthe ingot mold arranged in the bottom side Walls of the said sand mold.then introducing the direct metal into the lower portion of the sandmold whereby the molten metal in the sand mold rises in the samedirection as the graphite which is freed during the cooling of themolten metal.

4. The method of manufacturing ingotl molds. from direct blast furnacemetal, which method comprises provit'ling a sand mold with recesses forthe lugs of the ingot 11o mold and arranged adjacent the bottom at thesand mold, providing a bottom plate for the bottom oi the sand mold;then introducing the direct metal into the sand mold adjacent the bottomthereof in such. manner 1'15 that the portion of metal forming the mouthand lugs of the ingot mold is at all times under the greatestlerro'static pressure and is continually fedwith "lresh metal during thecasting operation.

5. The method of manufacturing ingot molds from direct blast furnacemetal, which method comprises providing a sand mold .yvith matrix of theingot mold arranged; in the sand mold in inverted position and havingthe lug-forming recesses adjacent the bottom of the said'sand mold, thenfilling the said sand mold by direct metal introduced through a gateadjacent the bottom of the sand mold. 13 0 6. The method ofmanufacturing ingot;

molds from direct metal xvhieh method comprises casting the ingot moldin inverted position with the lugs thereof at the bottom of the castingmold, providing a vertical "height to the casting which is greater thanthe leng -h required for the finished ingot mold; then cutting off thatportion of the casting in which are located the shrinkage pipes andaceumulated g white.

7, The method of manufacturing ingot molds from direct metal whichmethod comprises providing a sand mold in which matrix for the ingotmold inverted and with the lugs at the bottom of the sand mold, thenintroducing the direct metal into the sand mold in such manner that thedirec' tion of movementof the molten metal in the sand mold is'the sameas the direction of movement of freed earbon then cutting off from thecasting that portion containing accumulated carbon and shrinkage pipes.

RAY o/oomrns.

